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Someone else has actually mentioned that but I think I am too old to go that route. I am in my 30's.
You are not too old for law school. I work with a number of folks who pursued their law degree at night while working full time. Granted, it takes longer and can be more stressful, but if it's what you really want, there will be a payoff in the end.
If you want to stay with the idea of being a paralegal, you should give an in-house legal department a try versus a law firm. I work in-house at a financial services company (I'm a paralegal) and it's not at all the same environment as a law firm. IMO, in-house results in a more collaborative relationship between the attorneys and the non-attorney staff. Also, many (if not most) of the attorneys who go in-house do so for quality-of-life issues. While no less of a workhorse, an in-house attorney is often more of a team player than one who's on the partner path at a law firm.
If you were a legal secretary then you already were a paralegal. There's no difference between the two jobs. Get another job as a legal secretary. Skip the certificate. All classes teach you is general information. Almost none of it is specific to any job you will be doing. You have to learn on the job whether you are a secretary or a paralegal or even a lawyer. Same with any profession.
I hate when people say this. Not. true. at. all.
I am a paralegal; my administrative assistant (i.e., legal secretary) is a godsend and we couldn't make it without her. But she is not drafting contracts, reading statutes and applying them to a proposed project or product, and fielding incoming legal questions from myriad clients. That is what I do as a paralegal.
I am a paralegal; my administrative assistant (i.e., legal secretary) is a godsend and we couldn't make it without her. But she is not drafting contracts, reading statutes and applying them to a proposed project or product, and fielding incoming legal questions from myriad clients. That is what I do as a paralegal.
Should you be giving legal advice? I try to avoid that as much as possible even if I know the answer. That's something that I leave to the attorney. Maybe it's because I'm in litigation, so I'm hypersensitive to that.
I'm a paralegal as well and I get your point, but I was a legal secretary for many years and my duties were beyond those of an "administrative assistant". I'm actually surprised that you are even assigned a secretary because paralegals at my firm don't get one, only attorneys. Legal secretaries, IMHO, have come a long way and are more than just general admins doing general admin work. A good specialized, seasoned legal secretary does far more. Now more than ever, firms are trying to save money in salary and expect legal secretaries to do more than clerical duties. With attorneys doing more of their own work, the secretary has to do more. I was a hybrid paralegal/secretary for many years, doing both jobs. It was a natural progression, things happened organically. I'd say that half my day was doing substantive legal work and thankfully my attorney made sure that I got proper credit.
There's actually a big demand for hybrid paralegals, people who can perform both jobs.
Legal secretaries, if given the opportunity, can transition to a paralegal role, especially if they have years of experience and a general aptitude.
OP, no offense, but you'll be eaten alive. Having a thick skin is almost a requirement at a law firm. It's a highly stressful environment, depending on the practice area. I'd steer clear of litigation, lol. Maybe trust and estates?
I know the job pays well but you have to think beyond the money. Part of the reason why legal is well paying is skill but it's also the ability to be unflappable and work under stress. I interact with my attorney very closely. We're a two man team. Almost like a married couple. We bark at each other. We both give each other ****. We've been together for 11 years now.
Should you be giving legal advice? I try to avoid that as much as possible even if I know the answer. That's something that I leave to the attorney. Maybe it's because I'm in litigation, so I'm hypersensitive to that.
I'm a paralegal as well and I get your point, but I was a legal secretary for many years and my duties were beyond those of an "administrative assistant". I'm actually surprised that you are even assigned a secretary because paralegals at my firm don't get one, only attorneys. Legal secretaries, IMHO, have come a long way and are more than just general admins doing general admin work. A good specialized, seasoned legal secretary does far more. Now more than ever, firms are trying to save money in salary and expect legal secretaries to do more than clerical duties. With attorneys doing more of their own work, the secretary has to do more. I was a hybrid paralegal/secretary for many years, doing both jobs. It was a natural progression, things happened organically. I'd say that half my day was doing substantive legal work and thankfully my attorney made sure that I got proper credit.
There's actually a big demand for hybrid paralegals, people who can perform both jobs.
Legal secretaries, if given the opportunity, can transition to a paralegal role, especially if they have years of experience and a general aptitude.
I don't work in a law firm, I am in-house in a financial services company. So I am not assigned an administrative assistant individually; our whole team uses the same person. Also, all that I am doing is under the supervision of an attorney, so anything that could be deemed as giving legal advice goes to whichever attorney with whom I'm working before going out the door.
I am a paralegal; my administrative assistant (i.e., legal secretary) is a godsend and we couldn't make it without her. But she is not drafting contracts, reading statutes and applying them to a proposed project or product, and fielding incoming legal questions from myriad clients. That is what I do as a paralegal.
Yes. Which is what I've been trying to explain to people over and over again. Admins are not paralegals.
I don't work in a law firm, I am in-house in a financial services company. So I am not assigned an administrative assistant individually; our whole team uses the same person. Also, all that I am doing is under the supervision of an attorney, so anything that could be deemed as giving legal advice goes to whichever attorney with whom I'm working before going out the door.
When you stated that you field incoming legal questions it gave me the impression that could be interpreted as giving legal advice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PriscillaVanilla
Yes. Which is what I've been trying to explain to people over and over again. Admins are not paralegals.
No, admins aren't paralegals, but from my experience over the years, there is quite a bit of overlap. There are a lot of secretaries that perform advanced tasks "behind the scenes" (i.e. no title change). A good friend of mine was a litigation secretary for forty years. She trained attorneys. She regularly drafted pleadings, as did I.
That's why I wish they'd drop the term "secretary" because it's archaic. Firms pay way too much money to have people just take calls and type all day. Of course, the secretary in question has to be hungry and observant. If you want something, you have to go for it.
No, admins aren't paralegals, but from my experience over the years, there is quite a bit of overlap. There are a lot of secretaries that perform advanced tasks "behind the scenes" (i.e. no title change). A good friend of mine was a litigation secretary for forty years. She trained attorneys. She regularly drafted pleadings, as did I.
That's why I wish they'd drop the term "secretary" because it's archaic. Firms pay way too much money to have people just take calls and type all day. Of course, the secretary in question has to be hungry and observant. If you want something, you have to go for it.
I've been practicing law for over 30 years now, and this is my experience too. As I said earlier, there is no hard and fast definition of a paralegal, or a legal secretary for that matter. It completely depends on the specifics of each individual situation. Some people without the title absolutely do paralegal work, often at a very advanced level.
Although I think that the legal secretary terminology is sticking around, even though in other workplaces, they are usually administrative assistants. But a legal administrator is often more of an office manager, and I think that "legal administrative assistant" is too big of a mouthful. However, as a long time lawyer, I think legal secretary conveys an expertise and set of skills that a administrative assistant doesn't have, the same way that legal secretaries were distinguished from general secretaries. I'm fine with a job title change in theory, I just haven't seen anything catch on yet in practice.
Well, I don't have any insight into the legal world, but I can tell you that back in the days when commercial enterprises had secretaries, a good secretary was far more valuable than the executive she worked for. (She didn't get paid anywhere near as much, and more's the pity.) She was the one that kept his exuberance and ooh-bright-shiny-object executive syndrome in check, made sure that he didn't expose his ignorance when sending memos, and basically led him round by the nose so he could posture and act like a big shot.
Good executives (there were a few) would often take their secretary with them from firm to firm.
A secretary could break a boss, too. All she had to do was let a few of his dictations go out unmodified. Or not fix a few of the times he assigned people mutually contradictory tasks. Or neglect to tell him
"You know, Mr. Smith, so-and-so, although he doesn't seem very impressive, actually has the ear of the CEO, and the CEO almost always does whatever so-and-so recommends. Wouldn't you like to have lunch with so-and-so, to explain a little better what you were talking about at that meeting yesterday? I've made an appointment for the two of you at the Petroleum Club, but of course it's easy to cancel that, if you don't think it's a good idea to help so-and-so understand what you were discussing. After all, it probably won't come up when so-and-so goes fishing with the CEO this weekend. Oh, didn't you know? Yes, ever since they were in the Army (oh, didn't you know? so-and-so was the master sergeant when CEO was a second louie. They got to be real close...) they've had a standing date to go fishing every other weekend."
When you stated that you field incoming legal questions it gave me the impression that could be interpreted as giving legal advice.
No, admins aren't paralegals, but from my experience over the years, there is quite a bit of overlap. There are a lot of secretaries that perform advanced tasks "behind the scenes" (i.e. no title change). A good friend of mine was a litigation secretary for forty years. She trained attorneys. She regularly drafted pleadings, as did I.
That's why I wish they'd drop the term "secretary" because it's archaic. Firms pay way too much money to have people just take calls and type all day. Of course, the secretary in question has to be hungry and observant. If you want something, you have to go for it.
Absolutely. My old legal assistant at a prior job regularly drafts pleadings in her current role as a senior legal assistant. We have someone at my current job who was promoted from a legal assistant who is basically the legal researcher in the office, but she is called the case analyst and not a paralegal.
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